Sources of the legal rights to be fairly treated Chapter 3 Sources of the legal rights to be fairly treated

The constitution of the United States was created to limit the powers of the federal government rather than itemize them The federal governments power is further limited by being broken into three parts. Legislative Creates the laws Judicial Interprets the law Executive Enforces the law

The legislative branch has the power to enact laws, but only in areas that has been given jurisdiction by the constitution Congress has not been given power to enact laws in areas that are under control of the states The constitution determines what is congresses business and what is not Laws enacted by congress must still satisfy the requirements of the constitution

The framers of the constitution wanted to make absolutely sure that the federal government could never engage heinous violations of basic human rights For these reasons they created the first 10 amendments called the bill of rights They protect us from government violations of our basic human rights Among these are the right of free speech (1st amendment), the right to deny warrantless searches (4th amendment), and the right to not testify against yourself (5th amendment)

Until the creation of the 14th amendment after the civil war, these amendments only pertained to the federal government and not the state governments This is important because if you worked for a state university they could pay an unfairly low salary, or not hire you based on gender or race. The 14th amendment expanded the group of people who have to observe your basic human rights laid out by the constitution It states that anybody working on behalf of any government entity including town, state and federal must abide by the rights guaranteed by the constitution

The 14th amendment also added very important rights The right to due process Fair procedures whenever life liberty or property are being removed of restricted The right of equal protection Fair treatment when compared to how other people are being treated in the same circumstances

Congress also has the power to enact statutes (laws) that sometimes give us additional specifications Title VII is an example. This law prevents employers from treating people of different races, sexes, and religions differently from one another Equal pay act is another statute where people are paid fairly

Sometimes congress creates laws that either exceed its power or subject matter, that can be considered unconstitutional Congress can also create laws that are so vaguely written it needs interpretation In these instances the judicial branch reviews the constitutionality or the wording of the law Only the judicial branch court has the power to review and interpret statutes